1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and particularly to a technology that is effectively applied to a display device, such as a liquid crystal display device, in which a display panel is supported by a support member.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Conventionally, a display panel of a liquid crystal display device is usually supported by a support member and a frame member.
The support member is, for example, made of shaped resin and supports the display panel at the backside thereof. The frame member integrally holds the display panel, circuit components connected to the display panel, optical components and the like, and supports the display panel at the front side (forward side) thereof.
The support member has a projection for positioning the display panel, in other words, the image display area. The projection of the support member has, for example, a surface (hereinafter referred to as the first surface) that faces the side (cut end surface) of the display panel. The first surface has, for example, an annular shape facing toward the center of the display panel surrounds the sides of the display panel. Thus, when the display panel fits in a recessed area surrounded by the first surface, the display panel is supported and positioned.
Although the area surrounded by the first surface preferably has, for example, the same size as the external dimension of the display panel, the display panel has a variation in the external dimension, for example, due to component tolerances and thermal shrinkage (thermal expansion). Thus, the area surrounded by the first surface of the support member needs to be larger than the nominal external dimension of the display panel. This creates a certain amount of gap between the cut end surface of the display panel and the first surface of the support member.
The variation in the external dimension of each of the panels increases as the external dimension of the display panel increases. Thus, for a display panel with a larger external dimension, a correspondingly larger gap is required between the cut end surface of the display panel and the first surface of the support member.
However, the gap between the cut end surface of the display panel and the first surface of the support member allows the display panel to move horizontally and vertically by the amount of the gap, so that a larger external dimension of the display panel undesirably results in reduced positioning accuracy of display panel.
A known method for preventing the reduced positioning accuracy due to the gap involves inserting a buffer spacer 3 between the cut end surface 2a of the display panel 2 and the first surface 1a of the support member 1, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23. The buffer spacer 3 is made of, for example, elastic material, such as silicon rubber, urethane and sponge, and absorbs vibration and impact to prevent breakage of the display panel 2.
The buffer spacer 3 is affixed to the first surface 1a of the support member 1 or a surface 1c that faces the back side 2b of the display panel 2 using an adhesive 16, for example as shown in FIG. 23 or 24. FIGS. 23 and 24 are cross-sectional views taken along the line F-F′ shown in FIG. 22.